Switches happen. That’s right, I admit it’s not possible to eliminate ALL of the switchtasking in your day. However, I CAN teach you ways to reduce them to a minimal amount, which will boost your productivity significantly. Here’s one of my favorite “switchbusters”—a tip to avoid switchtasking:
Transition from the culture of “Now” to the culture of “When.” What does that mean?
The culture of “Now” is all about impatiencies. People want immediate responses and tons of switchtasking occurs in the form of multiple interruptions.
The culture of “When” sets clear expectations on when you will respond to requests for your time. This reduces the number of interruptions, therefore lowering your costs of switchtasking, too!
One simple example would be a voicemail message that says, “I check my voicemail at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm. If you leave a message after 4, I’ll return your call the next business morning.” Then, the next time someone calls you between those times, they have a better understanding of WHEN you’ll respond. You get ONE call instead of multiple follow-up calls and texts.
How can you start the transition to the culture of “when” at work?
Dave’s courses are on LinkedIn Learning and offer guidance on improving your time management, productivity, focus, and more!
